5 Books Every Young Woman Should Read

   

     When I saw this challenge hosted by Spillerena I was really excited.  I love books anything, right?   But when I read that the category was books geared toward young women I immediately became intimidated.  I am the worst girl, I have a hard time getting along with girls, and I really think that there is a severe difference between femininity and feminism.  Now that I am married I have found my femininity, but, I am still not sure where my feminism is.  So with that being said, I chose to share some books that influenced me as I read them as a young woman between 17 and 22.  These are geared towards young women similar to myself who don’t altogether fit the billfold, non-traditionalists in their youth,  and always had a group of guy friends who were best friends with a sparse couple girlfriends to gab to.  These books helped me better understand the person I wanted to strive to be.  

So, again, with that being said:

5 Books I think Every Young Woman Should Read

 The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

     Although this book is geared for couples to help them better understand the love one another is giving and receiving, I believe this is a great book for an individual of any kind to read.  I borrowed this from a friend a few years ago and It completely changed my outlook towards people in total.  I strongly encourage young women and men to read this book for their own sanity, frankly.  It is so easy to blame the people we love the most for hurting us because they aren’t loving us the way we think we should be loved.  Sometimes, we need to look at people in a different perspective to realize we are being loved with peoples whole hearts.  It just takes patience and understanding to see that people share and respond in different ways than our own.  This is a phenomenal book. 

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

     I suppose it is no surprise that I chose to put this on my list (if you take a clear look at the inspiration of my blog.)  However, I think that this is a classic that speaks to a woman’s heart and poses questions that are necessary for a young woman to ask herself as she dives into the future of who she wants to be.  I could go on and on, so I am keeping this one short.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

     Another one of my favorite books as well as one of my favorite movies: this is a must read.  If you have seen the movie, the book is a must for the story itself is much better within the pages of the book.  I don’t want to go into it too much because I have a post I want to do about Atonement in general.  But, what I will say is this is a great book on perspective and reality.  I think that as a young woman we overdramaticize a lot of what we see and sometimes forget to focus on what are the truths of the situations.  I recommend this book as a motivation of grounding our thoughts and to not lose concept of what is actuality and reality.  Also, I think young women like me are suckers for romantic tragedies and this is by far one of the best I have ever read.

Paint It Black by Janet Fitch. 

     I read this book during Christmas Break my Senior year of High School.  I loved this book.  It takes you through the windings of an independent woman in LA who is lost in art and love and rides the coattails of transcendentalism.  I highly recommend this book for a young woman who wants to touch the essence of life in the fast lane, smoke cigarettes, and be in the city life of the streets of Los Angeles.  I think that for young women similar to who I was this book speaks very close to their heart.  This is another great story to bring you into the realities of choices and life paths.  What is a party and what goes on when the party stops with the people living in the fast lane.  Also, this book is badass and a quick read.  Janet Fitch makes you feel like you are her best friend during the LA punk scene of the 1980s.  I love Janet Fitch.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller

     Donald Miller really excels at personal narrative.  I saw him speak as he promoted this book at my local church and was captivated by the premise.  Donald Miller reflected upon his life and realized after taking a screenwriting class from the same man in Adaptation that you must look at your life as a story.  You must look at everything as a scene that you would either want edited out or placed in your movie of life.  What dialogue is meaningful?  What setting do you prefer?  Who is you’re hero?  What is your heroic journey? 

Here is an excerpt from the book:

“Robert McKee says humans naturally seek comfort and stability. Without an inciting incident that disrupts their comfort, they won’t enter into a story. They have to get fired from their job or be forced to sign up for a marathon. A ring has to be purchased. A home has to be sold. The character has to jump into the story, into the discomfort and the fear, otherwise the story will never happen.” ― Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

     I absolutely adore Donald Miller and think that he really understands how to write dense fluid thoughts while maintining a wide audience of readers.   I highly, highly encourage you to read this book.  I actually bought this book on CD and listened to it while I drove from Orange County, CA to Berkely, CA and I have to say listening to Donald Miller read to you his edited story is an amazing option in reading this book as well.

Good Readings!